I finally got some of my friends to watch American Psycho – and it was lowkey hilarious. Let me preface this by saying that my friends don't like horror. They don't like psychological movies either. I am the complete opposite.
While we are friends based on the type of TV shows we enjoy and love all the sublime details of Barbie, I also love horror movies, while they would instead do anything else besides watch them – which I can completely understand.
But there are excellent films out there that I would call "starter horrors." These kinds of movies are not super gory, bloody or anything like that, and while blood is used, it doesn't make the whole film. More importantly, the stories are good, and it’ll make you sit there and ponder what you just watched after.
So I turned them on to American Psycho, one of the best movies of the 2000s. The film, released by the game-changing female director Mary Herron and based on the book of the same name, follows the story of a secret serial killer who works on Wall Street. My friends love Christian Bale, so they decided to give it a go, just for fun, even if it was technically a horror movie. And wow, it was enjoyable. Here's how it all went down.
We All Agreed That Christian Bale Was The Best In The Role
As I said before, I'm a big Christian Bale fan, as are so many people The actor has been in some fantastic roles throughout his time in Hollywood.
If you love Christian Bale, here are some of his best films to watch.
There's debate over his best film from those who have seen them all. Some would agree it's his Academy Award-winning performance from Dallas Buyers Club. Others might say his performance in Christopher Nolan's Interstellar (one of my favorite Nolan movies) is underrated. Maybe superhero fans would point out his portrayal of Bruce Wayne in the Dark Knight trilogy. To me, though, he is the best person to play Patrick Bateman, and my friends all agreed.
His performance blew them away, just as it did for me, and most were surprised when they learned that he wasn't nominated for an Academy Award for his role in the movie. It's not that rare that great performances in horror movies go unrecognized by the Academy, but they were still surprised.
There is just something about Bale's performance that stands out from his others; how he's able to fully commit to the role of Bateman and show off his acting prowess. Bale can switch between these two personalities so quickly, it's almost scary – and I could see how much it unnerved my friends too, but in a good way.
I Chuckled When They Realized Jared Leto Wasn't In The Movie For Very Long
"He died that quickly?!"
That was the response of one of my friends when they realized that Jared Leto was only in the movie for a short time. Another reason they decided to check out the film was because I told them Leto appeared, and honestly, Paul Allen is one of his best roles (and came right before his unforgettable movie Requiem for a Dream).
But then he's killed off decently early into the movie, and most of my friends had their jaws on the ground, unable to believe what had just happened. I was the same way when I first saw the movie.
In my friend's eyes, when they see that a big-name actor is in a movie, they almost expect them to last until the very end, but the fact that Leto was killed off decently quickly stunned them – and honestly, it made them want to watch more.
They were at least happy that Reese Witherspoon was not killed off – and somehow was only in the movie for not that long either. That also jolted my friends, especially since they love her too and wanted to see more of her character.
I Didn't Expect Them To Laugh So Much At The Way Bale Killed Paul Allen
Okay, this sounds bad, but it's not the idea of Leto dying that made them laugh – it's just how Bale delivered the performance that earned them snicker. The fact that he was dancing and lecturing Allen about Huey Lewis and the News while doing that hilarious dance to "Hip To Be Square" before brutally killing Allen that tipped them off the deep end.
Not only did they realize that it was this movie from which the popular meme online came from, but they could understand why that was one of the parts of the film that stood out from the rest. It perfectly captures what American Psycho is – a brutal tale about a serial killer with a hint of comedy and satire that makes the movie work perfectly.
To be honest, I laughed hard when I first saw the film too. I still kind of do despite knowing what happens next. It’s hilarious in a dark way.
Their Confusion At The Ending Was Hilarious Because I Felt The Same Way
When I first watched the ending of American Psycho, it was confusing as heck to me, and it made me glad because they felt the same way. It’s tough to grasp the first time around, and I was glad I wasn’t alone.
Towards the end of the film, I would say we get to see the psychological aspect of American Psycho, where we learn that Bateman is an unreliable narrator. We don't even know if he killed Allen or if what he sees is real. Bateman himself can't separate reality from imagination, and the ending is him submitting to his mind and not knowing what is real.
That had my friends interested. That made them wonder "What the heck is going on?" because the movie takes a turn that no one expects. And the way American Psycho ends had them perplexed as heck.
But I Was Happy That They Collectively Decided To Watch It Again
But you want to know the good part? My friends wanted to watch it again.
All of them wanted to see if they could pick up signs of where the movie started to stray from a reliable narrative. They wanted to see if we could spot differences and see if everything was just in Bateman's head or if he did kill those people.
And you know what? This makes me extremely happy. There was a time when my friends were steadfast in never watching a horror or psychological movie. They were just never huge fans of them, and I never pushed them because I didn't want to be that person to force them to watch a film they didn't want to see.
But on one fun day, they decided to give American Psycho a chance, and they loved it so much they wanted to watch it again. While this doesn't pave the way for them to watch movies like the Saw franchise or any of those terrifying horror movies with plenty of blood and gore, it could mean that this one film opened up a whole new world of films for my friends to enjoy.
So, thanks, Patrick Bateman. I never thought I'd say that.
American Psycho just celebrated its 23rd anniversary in April 2023, so if you haven't gotten the chance to rewatch the movie in a long time, be sure to check it out below. It's worth your time and more – if not to celebrate Bale's fantastic performance.
Stream American Psycho on Peacock.
Rent/Buy American Psycho on Amazon.